BT faces £600m claim for historic overcharging on landlines January 17, 2021 A £600m claim has been filed against BT at the Competition Appeal Tribunal that relates to historic overcharging for landlines. The claim could result in payments of up to £500 each for 2.3 million BT customers. The case is being brought by Justin Le Patourel, a telecoms consultant who worked for Ofcom for 13 years. [...]
Businesses flouting Covid rules get free pass January 17, 2021 No enforcement notices have been served on companies by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors for Covid safety breaches since the country entered its latest lockdown. Inspectors were contacted 2,945 times about workplace safety issues between 6 and 14 January, the Guardian reported, but no notices were served. Enforcement notices initially ask businesses to remedy [...]
All over 18s in the UK could have Covid vaccine by June January 17, 2021 Senior government figures are hoping for every adult in the UK to have received their first Covid vaccine jab by the end of June in what would be a significant acceleration of the country’s rollout. Downing Street is now reportedly working toward this target, with the aim of soon getting up to 5m people vaccinated [...]
UK arrivals face hotel quarantine to stop mutant variant spread January 17, 2021 Ministers have been asked to draw up plans to strengthen Britain’s borders, to stop new variants of coronavirus undermining the vaccination effort. Officials have been told to prepare for the creation of quarantine hotels for those arrived in Britain, and to use GPS and facial-recognition technology to check that people are staying in isolation, the [...]
Next is frontrunner to rescue Topshop ahead of bid deadline tomorrow January 17, 2021 Next is seen as the frontrunner to buy Sir Philip Green’s Topshop empire out of administration. Earlier this month Next confirmed it is part of a consortium bidding for Arcadia brands, but said it was not seeking majority ownership of Sir Philip Green’s collapsed business empire. According to the Sunday Times Next faces competition from [...]
Deliveroo’s fresh funding round brings valuation to over $7bn ahead of IPO January 17, 2021 Food delivery startup Deliveroo has secured $180m in new funding, pushing its valuation to over $7bn ahead of its long-awaited float. The Series H funding round was led by Durable Capital Partners and Fidelity Management & Research and indicates the strong demand from investors ahead of its IPO. The British unicorn is preparing for a [...]
Volunteer for vaccine trials as part of national effort, urges government January 17, 2021 As the vaccine rollout gathers pace the government is urging the public to play their part by volunteering for vaccine trials as well as helping elderly relatives with jab appointments. The NHS has vaccinated around 45 per cent of those aged over 80 in England and more than 1m have been invited to book an [...]
Exclusive: Government scraps ‘game-changing’ antibody tests at NHS sites January 17, 2021 The government has quietly scrapped antibody tests at NHS sites, City A.M. can reveal, despite calls to increase testing of immunity levels alongside the vaccine rollout. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) yesterday deleted a section from its website advising people on how to get free antibody tests at community clinics, mobile testing [...]
Canary Wharf could move into Zone 1 in new Transport for London plan to raise fares January 16, 2021 Canary Wharf could move into Zone 1 in new Transport for London plan to raise fares
Chancellor plots one-off Covid grant for benefit claimants January 16, 2021 The Chancellor is reportedly planning a one-off payment for benefit claimants instead of extending the temporary £20-per-week increase. Rishi Sunak met with the work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey on Friday to discuss the alternatives to the increase in universal credit payments, according to The Times. He increased universal credit and the basic working tax [...]